A bipartisan bill would push the federal hemp THC ban to 2028, buying time for farmers, brewers, and lawmakers to replace prohibition with regulation.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers is moving to slow down the federal hemp THC ban that Congress quietly enacted during last year’s government shutdown, giving the industry more time to adjust and reopening a debate that many thought was settled.
On January 12, Rep. Jim Baird of Indiana introduced the Hemp Planting Predictability Act, a short bill that would delay implementation of the new federal hemp definition from one year to three. The change would push enforcement from November 2026 to November 2028, buying time for farmers, manufacturers, and regulators to negotiate a regulatory alternative to prohibition.
As reported by Marijuana Moment, the bill arrives after weeks of escalating concern from state officials, brewers, farmers, and hemp trade groups who say the existing timeline is unworkable.
A one-line fix with major consequences
The bill itself is only two pages long and makes a single change. It amends Section 781 of the appropriations law that ended the 2025 shutdown by striking the phrase “365 days” and replacing it with “3 years.”
That one edit pauses a sweeping policy shift that would otherwise take effect next year. Under the shutdown deal, most hemp-derived products would be treated as illegal marijuana if they contain more than 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container. The law also bans synthetic and chemically converted cannabinoids and redefines hemp in a way that collapses much of the post-2018 market.
High Times previously broke down the implications of that language in detail in its coverage of the shutdown deal that recriminalized hemp, setting off a one-year countdown that many operators described as existential.
Bipartisan backing and planting season pressure
Baird’s bill has attracted bipartisan support from the start. Initial cosponsors include …
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Author: Javier Hasse / High Times
